I've been told it's bad that I smile out of politeness/habit in Russia?

your friends are correct expressing any emotions out of politeness is considered two face or fake...Russian people are very straight up if they are happy they are happy if they are upset they are upset...nobody puts on a front like they do in America...you should be able to control your own emotions and express what you feel not what you think you shold feel...be straight up ..i know it is hard because where you are from you are tough not to express your real emotions and to always put on a happy face...

XD Please, don't dramatize)))

That's true, we don't smile all the time like Americans.

But if you do nobody will think that you're impolite. Who said you that? That's ridiculous.

When i ask someone to do something for me, a light smile is always useful.

Perhaps, you shouldn't show all 32 teeth and stare to people. We, Russians, like privacy. If someone is seating with sad or mad face or looks busy, it's the best thing to leave this person alone. If you have eye-contact with someone, feel free to give him/her light smile. The most people or smile back, or modestly (shyly) look away. Don be offended, if they make troubled face - it's because of their problems and hard life, not because of you.

And yes, if we smile to someone, that means people sincerely like you. We have 2 different worlds - one of them is home - with friends, family - and other is on the streets.

Try to make friends and you'll see how we can smile and laugh.

Need questions - feel free to write)

It might just be seen as shallow or fake, in a culture where people only smile while sincerely happy, to smile at people just to be polite. I wouldn't say it's bad that you're used to smiling on instinct - I'd say it's part of American culture. As for breaking the habit, I'd say just try not to smile at people for no reason, and if you catch yourself doing it, just stop.

Good luck!

@Vasisual: I think very few people anywhere actually cares about other people. It is funny though, because occasionally, I do see people running down the street naked in full view everyone you can imagine..... hahaha!

EDIT: It is true that this might illustrate a cultural difference between the US and Russia but do not take it personally. I once walked into a shop in a neighborhood in moscow that is not commonly frequented by people outside the area and I think the person inside felt intimidated by me (I am quite large). I entered and with a stone-cold face she said (almost shouting) "STO!!" (Like, "WHAT THE F@@K YOU WANT"). When she realized that all I wanted to do was buy something, she was my best friend.

hahaha! This is an old question but with a new spice. I am not russian but people say that I dont smile very much, and if I am in a bad mood, sometimes, I find other people smiling to be annoying.

How to stop it ..... hmmm depends on how serious your problem is.

Try looking at yourself in the mirror and practice a poker face. When you think you are about to smile, think about the person who cut you off while you were on the way to work this morning.

They corner-stone of the Russian society is that people don't give a f*ck about each other, well maybe, except the closest friends. At one hand it's very negative, because people can ignore you completely or won't say a word to you when e.g. you get drunk into your car, but at the other hand, unless you run naked in the street, you can do whatever you want.

This is especially true for the students.

No training or effort will be required: Give it a few months. Life in Russia will grind you down in ways you can't imagine. You will soon see there is little to smile about in Mother Russia.

Do not worry, you will see that very soon you will smile less without any special training.

It will happen automatically.

It is better to worry what will you do after coming back home from Russia. People who know you will see this difference - you will smile much less. But again - very soon you will recover and will start smile again.

Choise something one to write here or to smile here in Russia to feel better herself. Namely for that i dislike foreiners.